Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Debut author Lisa Cooke in the lair

sponsored by Donna MacMeans

I've known Lisa for several years and knew that if her everyday humor and charm were captured in a book - she'd have a hit on her hands. I didn't have long to wait. Lisa's debut book, TEXAS HOLD HIM, hit the bookshelves this month. Romantic Times Bookreviews says "It's a luscious, fast-paced adventure with appealing characters and great scenery." Luscious. I like that. Please join me in welcoming Lisa Cooke to the lair.

Thanks for inviting me to Romance Bandits today! I’m so excited to be here and to talk about my new release, TEXAS HOLD HIM. I love historical romances, and my favorites are definitely the ones that add humor to the mix. When I write a book, I always think about what types of personalities will give the best potential for a passionate romance and a giggle or two (or three or four).

The hero in TEXAS HOLD HIMis a Texan (of course) named Dyer Straights and a Southern belle who needs a sizable amount of money to pay a blackmailer so she can save her sick father from prison. Dyer is the best gambler on the Mississippi and Lottie agrees to give him a night in his bed in exchange for poker lessons. The ensuing scenes were a blast to write. Lottie had never handled cards in her life and her questioning of the logic of the game exasperates the hero to no end. Of course, there’s much more to the book than poker games, but the banter between my hero and heroine entertained me enormously as I tapped away at my keyboard.

My next book is a story about an 1890’s Appalachian midwife who suddenly finds herself with three fiancés. A MIDWIFE CRISIS will be released in February of 2010 with Leisure historicals. And yes, it’s got a few giggles in it as well, or did you already figure that out by the title?

Luckily, I found an editor who loves humor as much as I do. When Leah Hultenschmidt of Dorchester Publishing called me this summer, I almost fainted. I remember looking at the caller ID and seeing “Dorchester” and thinking, they must have the wrong number. When she told me she wanted TEXAS HOLD HIM, I could have swallowed my tongue. I’ll never forget her telling me that I had impressed her and Alicia Condon (senior editor). Then she added, “Well, actually, you’ve impressed quite a few people here.” What a cool thing to hear on a hot summer day. She said she laughed out loud at the poker lesson scenes. When I heard that, I knew I’d found my editormatch from Heaven.

So, how about you? Do you enjoy a good chuckle when you read, or do you prefer serious stories? Is it something that changes according to your mood or do you pretty much stick to one type of book?

Leave a comment and you might win a copy of TEXAS HOLD HIM for yourself. Anyone up for a few lessons from a sexy riverboat gambler?Thanks for stopping by and happy reading!

Hey - if any of you are headed for the Romantic Times Convention in Orlando, Florida this week, be sure to stop by and visit Lisa, Christie, and I. To read more about TEXAS HOLD HIM, visit Lisa's website at www.lisahistoricals.com

89 comments:

Hi, found this blog and so glad I did! I prefer serious historical romances in general, but I find every now and then, the mood strikes me to indulge in a light-hearted romance romp. I love your titles!Texas Hold Him sounds like just the ticket for a 'sittin' on the deck' read! I will certainly look for it next I am out shopping~

Hi Lisa nice to meet you! Welcome to our Lair. Your debut book sounds like a fantastic read and I would love to read it. To me it depends on the mood I am in as to what I want to read although I enjoy a good laugh in about any book. Sometimes I just need a good comedy to read and other times I want to read more to the mystery side.

Hi Lisa- thanks for visiting with us today! I'm definitely fond of humor in books - it's so great when the characters are witty and smart. I could also use some humor right now - I found out this morning that my paper needs to be 15 pages longer... and is due Friday. :P (And I'm working on another one due tomorrow.) Texas Hold Him is also a very cute title - Congratulations on the new release!

And your second book sounds quite interesting as well - three fiancés? Goodness!

I second Anna's motion to hear your call story! I love the teaser in your post.

Love both of your titles -- did you come up with them, or did Dorchester assign titles for the books? I'm intrigued by both of them, darn it. At this rate, my TBR pile -- if laid out end to end -- will soon reach the moon!

Hi Lisa it is really nice to meet you and yes I could do with some poker lessons from a sexy riverboat gambler I am not very good at poker.

I love a book that makes me laugh but I guess I choose the books to read depending on what mood I am in and that of course can veery from time to time but I love historicals and I will be adding your book to my must get list.

Thanks Donna for inviting Lisa and you Guys have lots of fun at the convention.

I love humor in books!! Jill Shalvis, Rachel Gibson and Sandra Hill are autobuys for me because their humor brightens my day.

Congrats on your release. I love the title and the book's premis. My SIL has taught our family the game of Texas Hold Em so we have lot's of fun when we get together with our poker chips. I'm TERRIBLE at bluffing!!

Lisa, I LOVE books with humor, and Texas Hold Him had me laughing out loud in places! The dialogue was great and there was loads of sexual tension - other things I really enjoy in a book. ;-)You have a real winner with this one! I can't wait for your next book.And speaking of winning books... I've got to get hold of Donna MacMeans newest too! I've heard such great things about her stories. Next on my list, for sure!

Lisa, congratulations on your debut book! It sounds like an interesting read - as does your follow up book. Love the title!

As far as a preference...sometimes, when I am in a dark mood, I might want to read a book to suit that mood, but usually I just read because I love reading, not because of the mood I'm in - I guess you could say I'm always in the mood to read. But I do like humor in my books, especially when it's unexpected - like in the middle of a crisis when tensions and tempers are running high and the situation looks pretty dire. I think that's one of the reasons why I love Lost so much. There they are, fighting for their lives on a daily basis, forever trapped in these mysterious circumstances and pretty dark situations, and then Hurley cracks some kind of joke or Sawyer (and now Miles) calls somebody by a flippant name or something and you laugh out loud because it's unexpected but, oh, what a relief. And since I come from a family that has always gotten through bad situations with humor, I truly appreciate that gift in my reading/entertainment.

Hi Beth,I decided to write the story while watching the World Poker Tour on TV. I thought a play on Texas Hold 'em would be a cute title for a romance book. I did learn a lot and I keep waiting for someone to correct me on some of the poker rules my hero explains to my heroine. But, Poker in 1870 had a few different rules--not many. Some people also think that Texas Hold 'em is a new game. Nope. It was around back then too.I swear, I did my research ;-)Lisa

Hi Gillian,I didn't start with historicals. My first book was a time travel about involving a knight. The only thing worth keeping was the title LOL (ONCE A KNIGHT IS ENOUGH) My next one a psychic suspense. SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE did get me an agent, but it still hasn't sold. TEXAS was my 5th novel and I'm now working on my 9th.Lisa

I enjoy all types of books. If I stuck with just one type, I'd get bored. As for humor in a book, I love a could laugh through the book. Books don't have to be all serious. Texas Hold Him sounds very interesting. Would love to win a copy. Have a great day.

I love a book that mixes humor into a good, fast-paced read. Susan Elizabeth Phillips is my personal deity for the way she combines charming, witty dialogue with a big, wide-open heart. I can't wait to grab a copy of Texas Hold Him, if only because any author who names a hero Dyer Straights deserves my patronage. :-)

Thanks for swinging by the lair today, Lisa! And thanks to Donna for bringing her by!

Thanks, Susan-- I was afraid I would have to change the hero's name and was really glad when my editor let me keep it. She thought it was great, but I didn't know if my tongue in cheek humor would have to be tamed ;-)Lisa

Your books sound great and I'm really pleased to see humour making a come-back. I've added you to my 'to buy' list. There are too few romantic comedies out there, these days. Yay that you cracked the market wide open!

I read a variety of things, from gritty romantic suspense to romantic comedy. Thanks to all the fabulous guests that the Banditas bring to the Lair, my TBR mountain is expanding all the time.

Sometimes my mood dictates what I read. Other times, I'm on a charge to read every book by a certain author *g*. And other times, I just can't wait for a particular book and that jumps to the head of the queue.

Like today, for example, the Amazon pigeon arrived, bringing with him Tawny's Coming on Strong, Beth's A Not-So-Perfect Past and Donna's The Seduction of a Duke. They've leapt to the top of the pile!

I think if your characters entertain you or move you, then, they're likely to move a reader too!

Your titles are fabulous! And your books sound wonderfully funny. I'm really looking forward to reading Texas Hold Him. My reading mood varies so much that I usually have several books going at once - one slow, one fast-paced, one funny...

I also sold to Dorchester recently (to editor Chris Keeslar), and it's great to meet another debut Dorchester author here.

One reason I'm looking forward to reading your book is the poker! I love the intricacies of card games, although I rarely play them. I once wrote a historical where my heroine was expert at piquet. Loved learning about the game, although I don't think I'd have the concentration or memory to play it.

Haw. Haw. Haw. Lisa, welcome to Thar Lair. I read your interview here and rushed off to your website to read the excerpt. It had me guffawing. Wish I could see the hero's jaw drop at her "Agreed!" in person.

And a midwife with three fianes? Heh. Are they all widows of her former clients? :)

Hi, Lisa! Huge congrats on your debut! I'm definitely a fan of humor in historicals (or any other genre, really!)--I'll be looking forward to reading Texas Hold Him! I'm assuming that your second title is not at all related! Do you have ideas for future books bouncing around already?

Hi Keira- Widowers? I wish I had thought of that! LOL. My poor heroine's family picked her fiances for her, and quite an interesting lot they are. Of course, the hero is none of those, but that's what made it so much fun.Thanks for stopping in!Lisa

Hi Flechin1--No, my second book is set in Appalachia and isn't connected. I've got too many books bouncing in my head! LOL. I'm trying really hard not to start another until after the RT convention this week, but I'm taking my laptop, so anything is possible. I love "playing" with a new hero ;-)Thanks for stoppin inLisa

Lisa - Didn't I tell you? The rooster is coming with us! Oh, he'll visit the first poster - because as you all know - I'm so not an early riser *g* but he's flapping down to Orlando to check out the male competition.

Treethyme - Lisa should be at Lori's reader event in June (right, Lisa?) so we'll be seeing you in a month or so. We'll be the ones glowing with a Florida suntan *g*.

Lisa! I just loved TEXAS HOLD HIM and was actually mad when it ended. Oh the final scenes were wonderful and satisfying, but I was having so much fun with your characters and the sensual world you'd built that I hated to leave it. LOL Can't wait for the next one.

I know this will come as a shock to anyone who knows me, but I'm one of those people who just loves humor built into her romance. (Okay, so no one is shocked.)

Life is dark enough--give me the laughs! But they have to be natural laughs and I still need all those other wonderful, deep emotions that romance writers are so gifted at creating.

You do this in spades, Lisa! (Note the clever poker reference here, please.)

Real quick, let me brag on Donna's latest, too. I just finished THE SEDUCTION OF A DUKE and also hated when I got to the end of it. Love your Duke, Donna! He's my "brand" of hero!

LOL Anna - You know, I've read Lisa's book (check out the quote on the back) but I never caught the pun of Dyer Straits until you mentioned it. I got caught up in the character without putting the first and last names together. D'oh.

Welcome to the Lair, Lisa!! And big congrats on your first book! The humor sounds wonderful--luscious, in fact! :-) And book two sounds just as fun. How great that you found the perfect editor for your work. That phone call from Leah sounds like a dream come true!

Louisa - Thanks for the love on Seduction of the Duke! I really loved the twist in the ending of that book, but then...after it sits at the publishers a few months and you wait for it to hit the shelves...you start to wonder if it was as fun as you remember. Thanks for boosting my confidence that it's well recieved.

I generally read several books at the same time too although it's generally because I put them down and can't remember where I put it. But you do it purposefully? Do you try to read in the genre you write, or do you avoid messing up your voice by reading in the same period/genre?

Donna - I hop from book to book according to my mood. My attention span got screwed up when my kids were small, and I've never recovered! Also, sometimes when I'm reading a really suspenseful book, I simply *have to* put it down. For example, I've been reading No More Lies by Susan Squires, and I'm right at the black moment. (I skimmed ahead to see). It's a wonderful book, and I raced through it without touching anything else, but I can't bring myself to finish it yet. I'm chicken - just don't want to feel all that overwhelming emotion right now. (I also leave the room during the most suspenseful parts of movies...)

As for reading in my genre, it depends which genre. I write both paranormal and historical. I don't read a lot of paranormal, but I devour historicals. (Seduction of a Duke and Texas Hold Him (which I just bought today) are high on my TBR heap.)

I have to agree: Seduction of a Duke was WONDERFUL! I would recommend it to everyone, and not only for the fact the hero and I share a first name....

And I read Lisa's excerpt. "Oh, look, they're all the same color!" *LOL* I emailed my favorite bookstore and requested they save me a copy. Hilarious! I think I might start it tonight after I get home from the gym.

Thanks Cheri, First releases are scary. It's kind of like walking naked through McDonalds. All your secrets are suddenly exposed and you can't help but wonder if your buns are holding up with the competition ;-)Lisa

Lisa, welcome to the Lair! 'Texas Hold Him' sounds like my kind of read. I adore humor in all books, not just romance. I can't abide the oh-so-serious "literary" fiction. I like my literature sprinkled with humore, thank you very much! *g*

Your second book sounds wonderful as well. I think I've found a new keeper for the shelf. Thank you for being with us!

I LOVE funny books. I love serious books too, but I write dark, and SO wish I could write funny. I guess it's normal to love what we don't do well--it's such a relief to read something funny after writing angst.

So bring on the laughs. And I love your premise too. I like poker, and my dad was really, really good at it, so I can't wait to read this.

Great blog. In answer to your question about humor in books, it really depends on my mood whether I want a few chuckles or a white-knuckled read. I've heard so many wonderful things about your Texas Hold Him. I'm looking forward to reading it.

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September Releases

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Donna MacMeans, Trish Milburn, and Nancy Northcott will all be in Atlanta for the Moonlight and Magnolias conference in Decatur, Georgia September 30 through October 2nd. If you're in the area, stop by for the booksigning. We'd love to see you.

Redeeming the Rogue by Donna MacMeans received a 4.5 star TOP PICK! review from Romantic Times Magazine.

Living in Color by Trish Milburn is now available on Kindle, Smashwords and at barnesandnoble.com for the Nook.